Grain-harvester elevator



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

J. MACPHAIL.

GRAIN HARVE$TER ELEVATOR.

Patented Nov. 30

EYERS cq, momumu. WASHINGTON o c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES MAOPHAIL, OF BLUE ISLAND, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO THE PLANOMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

G RAINV-HARVESVTER ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 594,636, dated November30, 1897.

Application filed July 22, 1895. Serial No. 556 ,675. (No model.)

To all whom it may cancer-n:

Be it known that I, JAMES MAGPHAIL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Blue Island, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois,have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Grain-HarvesterElevators, which are fully set forth in the following specification,reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1represents a rear elevation of a portion of a grain-harvester, showingthe ground-wheel, the rear of the main frame, a section of the rearplatform-sill, the elevatorframe, and a portion of the binder-incline;Fig. 2, a plan view of a supplemental roller for the upperelevator-apron, with sections of the elevator-frame sides, all partsbeing broken away in places; Fig. 3, avertical section of that portionof the machine shown in Fig. 1, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4,a detail section taken on the line 4 at of Fig. 1, with the parts brokenaway about midway of the length; and Fig. 5,'a detail plan of th upperrearcorner of the elevator. V

My present invention relates to the elevator structure used ingrain-harvesters for conveying the grain from the inner end of theplatform upward over the main wheel and delivering it to the binder.

The improvements consist in special mechanism for keeping the upperelevator-apron taut,but at the same time elastically yielding;

also, in the relative arrangement'of the two upper rollers of theelevator-aprons, the under roller being dropped lower and set inwardmore than usual, and also in certain specific devices which will beclearly set forth in the description.

A description in detail of so much of a grain-harvesting machine as isnecessary to an understanding of the construction and operation of myinvention, with brief reference to a few of the main parts of themachine, which are necessary to show the general arrangement andoperation of the present in vention, will now be given, the mainfeatures being only briefly referred to and the improved partsfully'described in-detail as to construction and operation. Theparticular improvements which are believed to be new wheel. The innerends of the platform-sills are also represented, D indicating the rearand D the front sill, while the inner turn or loop of the platform-aproncl and its inner roller (1 are shown in Figs. 1 and 3. All of theseparts are of normal construction and require no special descriptionhere. They do not constitute elements, in their special construction andorganization, necessary to the present invention.

The elevator-frame E is in its general features of ordinaryconstruction, consisting of side pieces a e, the former being secured tothe rear member O of the upright frame and the latter to thecorresponding front upright O, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3. The crossstrip or bar 6 is applied to the upper ends of the elevator sides, beingsecured to each, and thereby fastening them firmly together. In theupper ends of the elevator sides there are provided apertures oropenings 6 cf, the for- 'mer at the rear and the latter at the front ofthe frame. These openings are of considerable length and alsocorrespondingly wide and at their inner upper corners are enlargedsomewhat to make a kind of circular seat e The lower or under elevatorapron or canvas F is of ordinary construction and arrangement, beingmounted on upper and lower rollers f f, respectively, the latter beingjournaled in the elevator-frame in any usual way; but the upper rollerf, instead of being mounted at the upper end of the elevator-frame anddirectly underneath the correspondingroller of the upper apron, isbrought downward and inward on the'elevator-frame and is journaled F,secured to the outside of the respective elevator side pieces andconsisting of a straight section f running along the sides of theelevator and having bearing-apertures for jour naling the roller ftherein. From this section an arm f projects outward at right angles,extending out a little way beyond the lower edges of the elevator sides,as seen in Fig. 1, the purpose of which will be hereinafter stated.

The upper elevator apron or canvas G is run around an upper roller 9 anda lower roller g in the usual way, except as to the mounting of theupper roller. The lower roller g is journaled in the lower ends of theelevator sides and is arranged just about over the lower roller of theunder elevator, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3; but the upper roller 9 ismounted quite differently from the ordinary construction. Metal bracketsH, substantially of plate form, are secured to the outer faces of eachof the elevator sides and are provided with openings or apertures 7L,cut in the bodies of the plates, corresponding to the enlarged openingsat the upper ends of the elevatorsidesjust described above, beingprovided with like recesses or enlargements h at the inner uppercorners. The body portions of these bracket-plates are about as wide asthe elevator side pieces and extend out to the upper ends of the latter,where they are angular-shaped, one edge section 71, being parallel withthe lower end edge and the other, It, lying horizontal and at an obtuseangle to the former section, the upper ends of the elevator sides beingof like shape. The outer or inclined edge section 702 is provided withtwo short lugs h, projecting straight outward and leaving an open spacebetween them.

Leverar1ns I are j ournaled on pivot-pins 7L5, projecting from the outerfaces of the brackets II above the opening therein. In what may becalled the inner ends 2' of these arms or levers, which extend over theopenings in the brackets, the upper roller 9 of the upper elevator-apronis journaled. The outer ends '6 of the levers extend out beyond theupper edges of the elevator-frame sides and terminate in short hooks 13These levers being free to turn on their journals obviously the tensionon the upper elevator-apron may be governed by the turning of the saidlevers. In order to provide for this motion of the levers or arms I, aright-angled lever J is pivoted to the outer end of a stud h, extendingoutward at the inner upper corner of the bracket II. This angle-leverdevice is on both sides of the elevator, and one arm j extends outwardon each side and is connected by a short link-rod j to the outer or hookend of the swinging arms I. The other members j of the angle-lever innormal position extend lengthwise of the elevator and are connectedtogether by a special tension device. A short link K at each side of theelevator is connected at one end to the arm 7' of the respectiveangle-levers. A eonneeting-rod 7c is hooked at one end to the short linkat the front of the elevator and extends thence back across theelevator-frame in a plane somewhat higher than the upper edges thereofnearly to the short link at the rear side. A spring-coil 7a occupies theremaining space between the inner end of the connecting-rod and the rearlink, being hooked at its respective ends to the hooks on the inner endsof these two parts, as seen in Figs. 4t and 5. The relative arrangementof these parts is such that normally this spring will be under tension,and therefore will tend to draw the arms of the levers J inward towardeach other, and this force being communicated through the other arms ofthe said an gle-levers and connecting-rods] to the swingingjournal armor lever I will have a tendency to draw the outer ends of said leversdownward, thereby throwing the lower ends outward, and so holding theouter roller of the upper elevator-apron out against the apron to keepit taut.

The run of grain taken from the platformapron by the elevators andcarried up by the latter to the binder varies in quantity. The run orstream is by no means uniform. The space between the two elevatonapronsin normal condition is intended for about the average run of grain. Thefrequent increase of the latter in regular work will of course producethicker sections or bunches, which will not readily pass along theordinary passage and will tend to obstructthe normal action of theelevator devices. The journal mechanism for the outer roller of theupper elevator-apron is for the purpose of obviating this difficulty byproviding for the outward yielding of the upper apron to permit the easypassage of the heavier or thicker bunches of grain; but this yielding isunder elastic tension, which restores the said apron to normal positionas soon as the increased section of grain has passed. The lower-apronroller-bearings are stationary, and of course the tendency of theseirregular bunches of grain is to force the upper one outward. Thisbrings a strain upon the upper apron, which is met by the inwardyielding of its upper roller, the pivoted arms or levers in which saidroller is journaled swinging in the proper direction to permit thismovement, which of course must bring the lower ends of said leversinward, with a corresponding outward movement of the outer ends. Thisaction is illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and of course itrelaxes the strain on the elevator-apron, so far as its ordinary feed isconcerned, permitting it to move upward on substantially curved lines,as also seen in dotted lines in said Fig. 3. The movement of theroller-journal levers just described will of course bring a greaterstrain upon the spring owing to the connection therewith describedabove, and the result is that so soon as back into normal position.

the extra pressure produced by an increase in the quantity of graincarried up by the elevators has passed the tensile force of this springwill immediately act to bring the parts In order to obtain the desiredaction, however, the two portions of the upper elevator-apron ought tomove together in the operation just described. For this purpose a kindof supplemental frame L is provided. This frame consists of two sidearms Z, which are journaled at their lower ends upon the shaft of theroller g at the lower end of the upper apron G. These arms near theirouter ends are connected by a stiff cross-bar Z, thereby making thisframe sufficiently stiff and firm. The extreme outer ends of the armsbeyond this cross-bar are provided with journal-bearings for thejournals of an idle-roller M. The diameter of this roller is practicallyequal to the distance between the two sections of the upperelevator-apron, and the supplemental frame in which it is mounted isarranged between the said two apron-sections, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3.This small frame being free to vibrate on its bearings, the roller whichit carries will move outward under any increased pressure on the undersection of the apron, such as described above; but on account of thesize of the roller the outer section of the same apron will be carriedout by it to the same point as the inner section. This action is alsoillustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. When the increased strain on thesaid elevator-apron has passed, the roller drops back with the apron,assuming normal position, as seen in the lower dotted lines in Fig. 1and in full lines in Fig. 3. The position of this swinging roller-frameand its'roller when turned outward is also shown in dotted lines in Fig.1, which indicates the outward swing of the frame, but without theelevator-apron inclosing it. be pivoted or journaled at the upper end ofthe elevator-frame instead of the lower, in which case the roller willbeat the lower end of the swinging frame instead of the upper; but theaction and result will be practically the same as described above andillustrated in the drawings and will therefore be understood without anadditional figure in the drawings.-

A binder table or incline N must of course be provided. This is of anyordinary construction and is mounted in a well-known way on the uprightportion of the main frame out-- side of the wheel and, as shown in Figs.1 and 3, terminates a little below the plane of the delivery of thegrain from the elevator and out-side thereof. The intervening space iscovered by a plate O,which is pivotally mounted by suitable journalconnection on the outwardly-extendingarms f of the brackets F, by whichthe said plate 0 adapts itself to the differences in the adjustment ofthe ele- The swinging roller-frame may vator and binder relatively toeach other. Above the said incline is the usual plate P, which issecured to the upper end of the elevator-frame and extends outwardtherefrom on an incline over the upper path of the grain as it isdischarged from the elevator. This guard-plate, as shown in thedrawings, is secured to the elevator-frame by means of a cross-bar p,fastened thereto, with its ends projecting a little beyond its edges andset into the spaces between the short lugs h on the brackets H.

The operation of the mechanism specially described above will beunderstood fromp'ortions of the description relating to the action ofthe devices. In this operation when the bunches of grain are ofextraordinary thickness the outer roller of the upper elevatorapron maysometimes be turned into the shallow recess in the opening of thebrackets H, where it will find a kind of temporary rest, though not astop to prevent its return to normal position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to be new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. p In a grain-bindingharvester, an elevatorframe; an outerelevator-apron having alower and a single upper roller, the latter journaled in pivoted swinging supports; a tension mechanism connected tosaid pivoted supports and adapted to stretch the upper apron in thedirection of its length; and an under apron having its rollers mountedin fixed journals, whereby the outer apron may be pressed outward fromthe under apron, by irregularities in'the grain, and automaticallyreturned to normal position after the passage of any such enlargedportion of grain, substantially as described.

2. In a grain-binding harvester,an elevatorframe, in combination with anunder elevatorapron having rollers with only rotary movement, an upperelevator-apron having its upper roller j ournaled in swinging bearings,an elastic mechanism connecting with said swinging bearings andconstructed to normally act thereon to throw the upper roller mountedtherein outward to keep the upper apron taut, a supplemental frame,arranged between the two parts of the upper elevatorapron and pivoted atits lower end to the journals of the lower roller thereof, and a rollerjournaled loosely in the upper end of said frame and of a sizecorresponding with the distance between the two parts of the saidelevator-apron when at rest, substantially as described.

3. In a grain-bindin g harvester, an elevatorframe, in combination withupper elevatorapron G,pivoted arms, I, in which the journals of theupper roller of said apron are mounted, elastic mechanism connected withsaid arms and constructed to turn the journal ends thereof outward tokeep the apron taut, a

supplemental frame, L, arranged between the two sections of the upperapron and hav ing two side arms, Z, journaled at their lower ends on theshafts of the roller at the lower end of said apron, and a still":cross-bar, Z, near their upper ends, and an idle-roller, M, jonrnaled inthe free outer ends of the armframes and filling the normal spacebetween the two sections of the elevator, substantially as described. 7

JAMES MACPHAIL. Vitn esses:

I. A. HELMICH, ALOYSIA IIELMICH.

